What is BS EN 61290-11-2 — Polarization mode dispersion parameter about?
BS EN 61290-11-2 is a series of optical amplifiers. An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal.
BS EN 61290-11-2 applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs) including optical fibre amplifiers (OFAs) using active fibres and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) using semiconductor gain media.
Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) causes an optical pulse to spread in the time domain. This dispersion could impair the performance of a telecommunications system. The effect can be related to differential group velocity and corresponding arrival times of different polarization components of the signal. For a narrowband source, the effect can be related to a differential group delay (DGD) between pairs of orthogonally polarized principal states of polarization (PSP).
Note 1: The method described in BS EN 61290-11-2 is immune to polarization-dependent gain (PDG) and polarization-dependent loss (PDL) up to approximately 1 dB [‡].
Note 2: All numerical values followed by (‡) are suggested values for which the measurement is assured. Other values may be acceptable but should be verified.
Note 3: Although the PSA, in practice, is applicable to unpumped (unpowered) OAs, the PSA technique applies to pumped (powered) OAs only.
Who is BS EN 61290-11-2 — Polarization mode dispersion parameter for?
BS EN 61290-11-2 on Polarization mode dispersion parameter is useful for:
- Manufacturers and suppliers of optical amplifiers
- Designers of optical amplifiers
- Telecommunication equipment manufacturers
- Design engineers
- Testing authorities
- Quality control personnel
Why should you use BS EN 61290-11-2 — Polarization mode dispersion parameter?
An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed. Optical amplifiers are important in optical communication and laser physics.
BS EN 61290-11-2 defines the parameters specified for optical devices those are characterizing the transmission, operation, reliability, and environmental properties of the optical amplifier device, which is seen as a black box from a general point of view.
BS EN 61290-11-2 gives the grouping of the homogeneous parameters. Each test method (optical amplifier test methods, IEC 61290 series) is generally given for the measurement of a group of homogeneous parameters.
BS EN 61290-11-2 describes a procedure for measuring the PMD of OAs. The measurement result is obtained from the measurement of the normalized Stokes parameters at two closely spaced wavelengths. The mathematical basis together with an example of calculation for the Poincaré sphere analysis (PSA) method to calculate PMD is provided in the technical report IEC 61292-5.
